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The Avalanche Andretti Formula E has unveiled its new-look Porsche-powered Gen3 car and its reshaped driver line-up ahead of the 2023 season.
Andre Lotterer has moved across from the factory Porsche squad to join Jake Dennis, who embarks on a third season with the US-owned, British-based team that he first joined when it was BMW’s works FE squad.
Andretti completed a deal with Porsche in the spring and announced it at the Berlin E-Prix in May. It will be the second major German manufacturer it has worked with in Formula E after its BMW partnership.
Lotterer was drafted into the team in the summer, partly at the suggestion of Porsche. The 40-year-old former Techeetah and Porsche driver was set to concentrate solely on racing in sportscars after 2022 but will now dovetail both categories throughout 2023.
“For me, it’s very emotional, because I’m a very big fan of Mario Andretti and the whole history [of the team],” said Lotterer.
“I think it’s amazing what they’ve achieved and to join as an ‘Andre’ with ‘Andre-tti’, it’s also pretty funny and pretty cool.”
Dennis’s new deal with the team was announced shortly after the end of the 2022 season and came following a protracted period of negotiation throughout the summer.
This involved Dennis holding talks with the new McLaren FE team about the seat alongside Rene Rast, who was signed in the early summer period.
Porsche is said to have had a strong test and development period, although it has featured some disruption with the spec supplied components, including the battery.
Both Dennis and Lotterer have sampled the Porsche development car at tracks such as Varano and Mallorca. Additionally, both of Andretti’s race cars were recently shaken down at Mallory Park in the UK.
The team finished last season sixth in the teams’ standings after Dennis accrued a large amount of points in the final two events to ensure that Andretti leapfrogged Porsche in the championship.
Dennis has emerged as one of Formula E’s standout performers, taking three E-Prix wins.
Lotterer is yet to take a win but has eight podium finishes to his name across Techeetah and Porsche. He was the first Porsche driver to take an FE pole, at Mexico City in 2020.
The Race revealed in June that Lotterer would replace Oliver Askew, who contributed just 24 points opposed to Dennis’s 126 last season, at Andretti.
Both Lotterer and Dennis will race in an updated livery in 2023 with the team adapting its predominantly red colours with black trim for the campaign.
Like its four fellow customer teams – Maserati, Abt, Envision and McLaren – Andretti will get its first serious running with its Gen3 machinery at the Valencia test next week.
Three days of running are planned at the Spanish venue on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. A 30-minute shakedown run under reduced power levels will take place behind closed doors on Monday afternoon ahead of the official beginning of the test.
